The Beat Surrender

I won’t bore you with all the details now if you aren’t familiar with Lykke Li and her charming debut album Youth Novels, but if you get the chance go onto her album page on Amazon and read up on her back story, not only is it clear from the outset that she wanted to be a performer (putting together whole dance routines at the age of five to go with her Madonna album), but she’s also unbelievably driven in pursuing what she wants, going to great lengths to get there (virtually stalking Bjorn who ended up producing this album for her after much pestering).

Drive and a good back story are all well ands good, but to go with that you also need the talent and from hearing Little Bit, which was released as a single I wasn’t sure if she was the latest MySpace success story that had little to back up the hype.

I didn’t like that single at the time and I still don’t really, although on the album it’s easy to dismiss it to the background rather than it bringing down the tone. Fortunately it’s not representative of what is a very diverse album from a kooky, entertaining performer, who if you can get past the little girl lost voice she effects as her singing voice, is actually a good lyricist who is genuinely different to any other female vocalist i’ve heard in the last five years.

Not all her songs contain deep lyrical insight into her life and emotions, the shimmering opening track Melodies & Desires is an example where the myrics are a little bit of mystical bollocks if you ask me, but they don’t detract from the song despite that.

At other times like on the smokey, blues track My Love everything is laid bare and likewise on Tonight. It’s these sort of moments that show she has the substance in her songs to match the often beautiful and brilliant musical nuances that she flourishes every trrack with.

Continue